Dele Odule: I once priced my own casket when life got tough

Dele Odule, the ace Nigerian actor, has opened up about the darkest chapters of his life, saying he once priced a coffin for his own funeral.

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In an interview with FeelRightNews TV, the  actor recalled a period of despair that he walked into a casket shop in Oke-Ijeun, Abeokuta. He said he wasn’t sick, but was spiritually and emotionally exhausted.

He explained that his decision was driven by fear of shame, specifically, fear of his own Ijebu relatives.

“I went to price my own casket in Oke-Ijeun in Abeokuta when things became tough for me, and I did not want people to make a jest of me. Some people know about it. Olaiya Igwe knows about it. We went there together. He burst into tears,” he said.

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“I had believed I would not have a breakthrough. I could no longer get myself. I was not sick. I was tired of everything. Every one of my colleagues with whom we trained together as teachers had become captains or majors.

“And I knew the Ijebu people are hardened. If someone dies and is brought home in an ordinary casket, they will abuse you. I intentionally went there to price my casket, to appear like someone who will be given a befitting burial even when I die.”

Odule revealed that he lost his son to a severe sickness on August 14, 2004. He described a frantic, faith-crossing battle to save the child.

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“My son was so sick. We were taking him to different hospitals and places, including the University Teaching Hospital (UCH). I did everything I was asked to do by the people. Some asked me to go the Christian way, others asked the Islamic way. I took him to a physician in Ijebu. When the person saw them, he said we were going to do something. He asked that we fry bean cakes for the public,” he said.

“He instructed that two of the first fries should be taken out and not shared. He also said that the two fries must join together to save my son’s life. At that time, I already felt that they had announced my son’s death. But when we fried the bean cake, it eventually joined together. But the child eventually died. He died August 14, 2004. What will be will be.

“One of his siblings is about to earn a PhD. I feel so emotional anytime I remember, but I find solace in Jesus Christ, who says I am who I am. There is no armour against fate.”

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